It’s the Instability, Stupid

I’ve seen several articles over the weekend arguing that Barack Obama’s recent move up in the polls is due to the renewed attention on the economy, particularly the financial crisis which has taken on a renewed urgency over the last ten days. I don’t doubt this is true to a substantial degree. But looking at the arc of the tracking polls, particularly the second half of last week, I’m wondering if a big part of the gap isn’t due to McCain’s increasingly erratic and craven behavior — the now almost legendary campaign ‘suspension’ non-suspension being the best example.